Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announces ₹2 crore for development of villages near Odisha train accident site
Vaishnaw stated ₹1 crore had been allotted for the development works of Bahanaga Hospital and another ₹1 crore to develop the village and nearby villages.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday visited the Bahanaga Bazaar — a small station in Balasore district of Odisha where one of India's deadliest train accident in more than two decades took place.
Vaishnaw told news agency ANI, “In Bahanaga Bazaar, it was remarkable the way the people of Bahanaga came forward and helped during the [Balasore train accident] incident, the way they worked with Railways and administration. I have come to thank the people of Bahanaga village. I have come here to the Bahanaga Bazar and interacted with the locals about what all development works can be done here.”
He further stated that ₹1 crore had been allotted for the development works of the Bahanaga Hospital and another ₹1 crore had been allotted to develop the village and nearby villages. Half of the total amount was allotted by Sansad fund and the other half by Indian Railways.
Speaking about the damage on the station and restoration work, Vaishnaw said, “Almost work is finished, only signalling work is remaining. It should be done within the next four days… I reviewed all the restoration work going on in the Bahanaga Bazar and interacted with the locals here. Whatever requests local have made that will be done soon.”
He added, “Investigation is underway in the incident. An Independent investigation is going on.”
Railway official dismisses reports of staff absconding
Chief Public Relations Officer of South Eastern Railway, Aditya Kumar Chaudhary on Tuesday reacted to media reports about railway staff absconding after the train accident. He said, “This is factually incorrect. The entire staff is present and a part of inquiry. They are appearing before agency”.
Media reports on Monday said that Central Bureau of Investigation sealed the rented house of a junior engineer (JE) named Amir Khan after he was found absconding. The JE was reportedly under scrutiny, and was interrogated by the agency. Signal JEs hold an important position in the Indian Railways and are responsible for the installation, maintenance, and repair of signalling equipment.
Balasore Train Accident
Over 290 people died in the train accident in Odisha's Balasore as Coromandel Express crashed into a stationary goods train derailing most of its coaches near the Bahanaga Bazar railway station.
A few coaches of the Coromandel Express whiplashed the last few coaches of the Bengaluru-Howrah Express which was passing by at that time.
Over 900 people were officially reported injured in the train tragedy, with more than 100 still receiving treatment at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack and a few private hospitals in Bhubaneswar.
Meanwhile, the identities of 81 bodies preserved at AIIMS Bhubaneswar are yet to be determined as claimants await the results of DNA tests. To date, DNA samples have been collected from 78 families.